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Author Topic: (SG) The Redleaf Epic (Formerly Widow: A Duchess Scorned)  (Read 66246 times)

Weirdsound

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Re: (SG) Widow: A Duchess Scorned
« Reply #45 on: April 02, 2016, 10:22:53 am »

2334th Year of Man, 4th Month, 15th Day:

As you lie in bed trying to sleep for the first time at Groghall, your mind returns to the issue of succession. You briefly offer serious consideration to the merits of naming Fortune Duchess of Redleaf. The biggest upside is a selfish one; she is only 10 and the law of the kingdom says a regent can rule in her place until her 22nd birthday - by appointing her you could keep direct control for the longest possible time. There is also the prospect of marriage arrangements; Men in the market who may have passed on her before might give Fortune another look if she has the word 'Duchess' in front of her name, and picking the right offer for Fortune's hand might land you the allies, money, and troops you need to retake what is yours.

You doubt these two upsides, however, are enough to cover all the disadvantages brought about by skipping over all the older siblings in favor of an anti-social blind girl who expects to die young, so you turn your attention to Joy, who is starting to look like a better and better choice the more you think about it. As long as Dean is willing to publicly renounce his claim to quiet any questions skipping him might raise, the only real downside to naming Joy Duchess is that Redding might decide that you have outlived your usefulness once you do so. Still, you control 60 swords to his none, and he knows enough about your dark magic to respect your ability to Hex him. As long as you keep a strong position relative to him, you doubt he would act.

Fairly confident in your selection of the next Duchess, you drift off to sleep.

2334th Year of Man, 4th Month, 16th Day:

You wake up early. It is imperative that you assign Wednesday her task before Fortune wakes up. Your daughter considers the ghoul to be her best friend, and would likely mount a protest over you sending her out after just explaining that you couldn't repair any damage she might suffer.

"I need you to trail the mayor today. See what you can dig up." You command, "I know the guy is a slimeball, but I'd like to know exactly what we are dealing with. Just don't push the envelope or get in any deeper than you feel comfortable going. Fortune will be pissed at me if you get hurt while I can't fix you."

"That's the understatement of the year boss, but I'll get right on it," the tiny ghoul replies before leaving to gather her mission gear. You then eat a quick breakfast before deploying Dean, Redding, and Tuft to arrange for you meetings with Fugitap, Mayor Rothwell, and Chieftain Foot respectively.

With everything else out of the way, you and your goblin 'prisoner' Caddor dress for town and hit the streets to investigate the local potion trade. The first thing you notice is a strange lack of small time herbalists and potion dealers at the market-place. When you inquire about this to a passing sellsword, he tells you with an air of disgust that only three establishments in the entire city sell potions. With that in mind, you set out to visit each potion dealer in turn.

The first potion shop is called Syzzik's Imports, although you can tell right away the name is a lie as the unmistakable smell of potions being brewed wafts in from the back room. The potions on sale all have exotic sounding names, come in beautiful hand-blown artisan flasks, and are priced about 10 times higher than you might expect similar potions to go for in the Hamlets around Cleanwater Castle. When you ask about buying brewing supplies, the young boy at the counter goes back to fetch the owner, Syzzik. Speaking with a thick accent that leads you to believe that he is either from exotic Titan Rock or a very good actor, Syzzik apologetically informs you that he doesn't have the faintest idea how potions are brewed because he imports his entire stock. Deciding that calling bullshit isn't worth the trouble, you thank him and move on to the next establishment.

At your next stop, a small re-purposed Orcish lodge called The Flying Flask, things go a bit better at first. The owner, a plain spoken middle aged commoner named Zeph recognizes you, but when you ask about buying supplies and hiring help to start brewing potions in town, he gets very uncomfortable and changes the topic by giving you a tour of his facility. While in his kitchen, you note the jungle plants hanging from racks, and once Zeph confirms that he gathers them locally, you are quite certain that you can make at least healing, pain resistance, aura masking, and aphrodisiac potions using only what can be gathered from the jungle. You also note that Zeph uses unaged liquor as a base for his potions, which stretches ingredient supply but likely renders everything he sells at least 30 proof. The tour ends in the shop, where you notice the prices are only slightly better than those at Syzzik's Imports.

When you re-iterate your request to purchase supplies. He tells you he cannot help, and you can tell at once you have somehow put him in an uncomfortable position. Before you can inquire as to what is wrong, Zeph makes a counter-offer: A 30% share in his business in exchange for a noble title and the eventual hand of your daughter Fortune for his 7 year old son. In response to this presumptuous offer, you promptly end the discussion by storming out in a huff.

At your last stop, the Orcish run Mogpan, things get scary. You again note the stock is overpriced, and when you inquire about purchasing brewing supplies, the owner leaps up from his chair in rage an chases you into the street with an axe in hand.

On your way home, Caddor begins to put the pieces together. "I think the three shops we visited are in cahoots. They work together to keep competition out so that they can set whatever prices they want. That Orc is scary, I suspect he is the enforcer who keeps the whole racket together. That last human wanted to help you, but was frightened shitless, so he may not be an entirely willing participant. Assuming he doesn't know who you are, I wouldn't be shocked if tall, green, and angry tries to have you killed for poking around. I'd stay in the mead hall or move with an armed escort for the next few days if I were you."

You return home in time for dinner, and are informed that the three meetings you sought to schedule will all take place tomorrow. Wednesday returns shortly after you change into your eveningware. The ghoul reassures Fortune that she was merely getting a feel for the lay of the town, and not doing anything dangerous. She then waits for your daughter to go to bed before pulling you aside to give you her report.

"The Mayor has three live kobolds tailing him discretely at all times. I don't think they detected me but I couldn't get close. Not sure if they were his lookout, or if they were spying on him, but I didn't want to risk it." She says with a defeated frown, before breaking into a wicked grin, "So I gave up and just broke into his office instead, his security sucks. I found a letter from Countess Charlie on his desk, and nobody disturbed me so I had time to transcribe it for you. You are gonna want to read this one boss."

Your servant pulls a sheet of paper covered in small, neatly formed, words from her cloak and hands it to you.

Transcribed Letter Dated 2334th Year of Man, 4th Month, 13th Day:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The letter fills you with hope, sadness, and anger. Charlie clearly wants some sort of alliance with you, and would rather get it through diplomatic means than threats. It is clear that the Kinkaids consider you a potential asset, and will treat you as such until such a time you show them otherwise.

The sadness comes from the realization that your husband's legacy is being undone. The war Sylvester fought at the beginning of his reign accomplished three things: It removed the southern border from Kinkaid control, it banned the four mighty clans (large and particularly nasty Orc groups the Kinkaids allowed to raid lands they didn't control in exchange for help defending the lands they did) from the jungles near the border, and it took back Silver County from the Kinkaids. Charlie's plan would make sure the Prince dosn't control the southern crossing, and would gain your side powerful and much needed allies in the form of the Mighty Clans, but in doing so would also reverse two of your husband's major victories in one fell swoop.

Then the anger. They want to kill Dean. One of your children. The child who seeks to follow in the footsteps of his mother and grandfather. The young man who in some ways has already surpassed you as a Dark Mage. You cannot forgive this! ...But on the other hand, the plot can be easily averted. You take a deep breath. Pragmatism must prevail, for now at least. All you have to do is name Joy duchess, something that was likely going to happen anyway, and Charlie will have no reason to harm your son.

You thank your creation for finding and transcribing the letter, instruct her not to divulge anything for now, and retire for the evening.

2334th Year of Man, 4th Month, 17th Day:

Fugitap arrives to meet with you before you even wake up, so you dress right away and arrange to have a private breakfast with him and Dean in your chambers.

The pair of you have been in written contact since he came to Redleaf Duchy four years ago, but you haven't actually seen your old friend since childhood. Luckily for you he doesn't seem to have changed much, and promptly upon entering your chamber flashes the pointed smile that can at once brighten and frighten a room.

You explain your situation, and after allowing your friend to express his condolences, ask if he knows where you can purchase the equipment you need to properly perform Dark Magic. The answer you get is pretty helpful.

"I think if anybody in this Duchy sold that sort of stuff, you would know about it Maeris. We had to drag workstation components across the jungle from home to get set up here, and it took two tries because the Orcs hit our convoy the first time. Luckily for you the Goblins of Bloodwalls Fortress acknowledge your uncle's law when on human lands, and by your uncle's decree all dark Mages answer to you around here."

"Which means I can demand reasonable tribute of your mages..." you muse.

"Tribute which can come in the form of access to your workstations," Dean concludes. While your husband was alive and you had duties as Duchess to fulfill, you had more or less neglected your role as chief regional dark mage. Aside from sending a Wight to keep tabs on and pass the occasional order to the few you know of, you have done little to organize to local black magic community in your favor. Perhaps now is the time to start changing that.

"Exactly," the goblin agrees. "Our base of operations is the Rivertower Knifehouse, a butcher shop and traditional goblin eatery two blocks west of the market. Your first visit should come when I'm on duty so I can introduce you to everybody. I skin the big reptiles our hunter catches at night every morning at dawn, and it usually take me at least two hours."

---

Chieftain Foot arrives a bit after lunch, while most of your household is out exploring town. Only Fortune, who rarely ventures outside on account of her blindness, and Mason, who didn't want to pass up the opportunity to meet with another scholar of the divine, sit down with you and your old teacher at the big table. Foot is dressed just as shabbily as he was when you last knew him, and if anything seems to have gotten even thinner.

"Blessings upon you in your time of grief," The old shabby Orc begins, "May your tears burn hot, and lead to the tears of those who wronged you. To what do I owe the honor of this invite?"

"I just thought it would be wise to consult with a respected teacher," you answer with a respectful bow, "to see how he is doing, and what services he is offering that may be of use to me in these trying times."

"Don't inquire about his condition, mother," Fortune urges in the prophetic tone she sometimes adopts, "it will only make you sad."

"The girl has wisdom," The defunct Chieftain admits, "you gain nothing from learning of my plight. Instead let me just tell of how we may help each other. Right now, I am will to test youngins for the potential required to be a divine caster, this process takes two or three days, and I charge a three meals and a bottle of wine or liquor for it. I am also looking for two students to train as divine casters of an Orc Deity of their choosing. I intend to charge one of these students with providing my meals during their time under me, and the other with paying my rent, 11 Silver a month."

"You are willing to take students for food and rent?" You ask appalled, "how bad are things for you? Have you eaten today?"

The old Orc waves off your concern. "You were my student once, so you will always be my student. It is my role to give you help in your hour of need, not the other way around. I am however looking to get back on my feet by selling my personal library, the asking price is 1500 silver, and I couldn't think of anybody more worthy to own it than you."

"1500 Silver for you whole library?" You swallow your saliva in shock, "You have individual books worth more than that!" An understatement if you ever made one. Some of the documents in Foot's collection are one of a kind, and thus priceless.

Foot shrugs. "I didn't think you could afford much more than 1500 silver under current circumstances..."

"...Honestly, I can't even afford the 1500 at the moment," You sigh.

"Don't feel bad, we all die in the end no matter how much money we have." Fortune chimes in merrily, doing her best to be helpful. Foot turns to stare at her, before glancing at you.

"So what is up with that kid?"

"You see," Mason says to enter the conversation at last, "Lady Riverland's youngest daughter here has been, in some way, touched by a goddess of dark prophecy and disaster from the deep pantheon..."

"-What the boring old man is trying to say is that some drow diety is in my head, and she lets me see bad things as they are happening, or even before they happen," Fortune interupts. The old Orc looks sufficiently impressed.

---

Still wary of a potential hit placed on you by the leader of some potion brewing cartel, you have Typhoon Swarm escort you to the mayor's office just before sundown. Upon arriving, it becomes apparent that bringing thirty orcs with you has the added bonus of frightening the mayor, who's office, according to Wednesday, is only protected by five fully armored Kinkaid House Guards and fifteen mercenaries, most of whom are young human females chosen more for appearance than combat effectiveness.

"My Duchess," he exclaims as you walk into his office flanked by Tempest and the five soldiers she has the most faith in, "I-I've been waiting for you. I just got word from Lady Charlie's advanced scout. She should be in town around Midnight, and has asked if she and her son Wendle could lunch with you at Groghall tomorrow."

"I suppose." you answer curtly. No harm in having the meeting at your place.

"G-good. Now to w-what do I owe this visit?" He is sweating heavily, for once, you'd like to think, not because he is wearing furs in the jungle.

"I'll be blunt. We both know you are not the most honest mayor in the Kingdom, Gregory. I want to know what you are willing and able to do for me, and at what cost," with a sigh, you decide to break the illusion of danger you have created and continue, "please do not mistake my escort as a threat to you. I fear I may have drawn the ire of some of the locals and my life may be in danger."

The mayor takes a deep breath and calms down. "Oh. You mean Peat. The Orc. Yeah. He was in here last night, he wanted to hire the city guard to kill you. I explained you were off limits. It completely slipped my mind that you brewed potions, I should have warned you to stay out of that business here when you first got into town."

"Or you could have told them to let me in." You firmly suggest.

"I might do that yet, my Duchess. Hell, I could have them all executed for price gouging if I felt like it, and turn their assets over to you. I think the degree to which I am willing to work with you depends on how your meeting with Lady Charlie goes tomorrow," as the mayor's confidence returns, so does a smug grin to his face. "Just know that whatever you need done in this city, I have the authority to do."

Feel free to suggest matters of discussion to bring up at any of the above meetings that take place on the 17th Day, and any actions to complete tomorrow morning before your meeting with Countess Kinkaid.
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Weirdsound

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Re: (SG) Widow: A Duchess Scorned
« Reply #46 on: April 02, 2016, 10:24:02 am »

Duchess Maeris Bonedust Riverland:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Geopolitical Situation:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
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Tomcost

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Re: (SG) Widow: A Duchess Scorned
« Reply #47 on: April 02, 2016, 12:42:14 pm »

To each conversation:

With Fugitap:

Arrange an introduction to the Dark Magic community tomorrow. But Dean will be the one to go, instead of us. The reason is simple, it is an excuse for him to be away and thus he wouldn't be lured into the battlefield. Also, he likes being a dark mage, and leading them could be a great development for him. We may want to discuss it with him first.

With Chieftain Foot:

Give him some meals that can last him for a week or so, and tell him that we will probably buy off his library when we are able to do so.

With the Mayor:

Before deciding anything about this, let's discuss politics.


So, the mayor is a chicken, easily impressed by military might. We may want to eventually take over this town, so we will need to gain the Countess' favor.

So, we are going to pretend to play her game.

She wants Joy as Duchess, so we are going to suggest that we may declare her Duchess (we will not say that this is definitelly decided, though). She wants dark mage support, so we will say that Dean is already organizing support. This will also decrease the possibilities of him getting murdered.


So, after gaining her favor, we can work with the Mayor. The idea is that, before getting rid of him, he will be the one to do the nasty work inside the city. The idea of just executing them is nice, especially if we don't take responsibility for that.

So, eventually, we may make him do this:
-Have Syzzik's lie exposed publicy and execute him for price gouging. Just encouraging the rumor that he actually makes the potions and that he is lying about the imports should make the act more legitimate.
-Make Peat the bully orc try to kill us, and them have the city guard kill him instead, for attempted murder. It is easy to kill those who are easily induced into rage.
-Zeph the bullied and frightened human is going to be left alone. We can easily discuss the new terms when we are the only competence in the city. And as he is easily frightened, so we have leverage.

With Zeph on the head of the potion industry in the city, we could easily man the other workshops.

crazyabe

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Re: (SG) Widow: A Duchess Scorned
« Reply #48 on: April 02, 2016, 12:55:07 pm »

To each conversation:

With Fugitap:

Arrange an introduction to the Dark Magic community tomorrow. But Dean will be the one to go, instead of us. The reason is simple, it is an excuse for him to be away and thus he wouldn't be lured into the battlefield. Also, he likes being a dark mage, and leading them could be a great development for him. We may want to discuss it with him first.

With Chieftain Foot:

Give him some meals that can last him for a week or so, and tell him that we will probably buy off his library when we are able to do so.

With the Mayor:

Before deciding anything about this, let's discuss politics.


So, the mayor is a chicken, easily impressed by military might. We may want to eventually take over this town, so we will need to gain the Countess' favor.

So, we are going to pretend to play her game.

She wants Joy as Duchess, so we are going to suggest that we may declare her Duchess (we will not say that this is definitelly decided, though). She wants dark mage support, so we will say that Dean is already organizing support. This will also decrease the possibilities of him getting murdered.


So, after gaining her favor, we can work with the Mayor. The idea is that, before getting rid of him, he will be the one to do the nasty work inside the city. The idea of just executing them is nice, especially if we don't take responsibility for that.

So, eventually, we may make him do this:
-Have Syzzik's lie exposed publicy and execute him for price gouging. Just encouraging the rumor that he actually makes the potions and that he is lying about the imports should make the act more legitimate.
-Make Peat the bully orc try to kill us, and them have the city guard kill him instead, for attempted murder. It is easy to kill those who are easily induced into rage.
-Zeph the bullied and frightened human is going to be left alone. We can easily discuss the new terms when we are the only competence in the city. And as he is easily frightened, so we have leverage.

With Zeph on the head of the potion industry in the city, we could easily man the other workshops.
+1
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Tomcost

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Re: (SG) Widow: A Duchess Scorned
« Reply #49 on: April 02, 2016, 01:04:56 pm »

As for a way of getting rid of the mayor, we could anonymously tell the garrison in the Crossing that there is a force incoming, and that attacking soon would send them into disarray. As this would go against the plans of Countess Charlie, and as it is confidential information that the Mayor knows, we could later blame the mayor as a traitor and have the Countess put us in charge.

NRDL

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Re: (SG) Widow: A Duchess Scorned
« Reply #50 on: April 02, 2016, 03:45:22 pm »

To each conversation:

With Fugitap:

Arrange an introduction to the Dark Magic community tomorrow. But Dean will be the one to go, instead of us. The reason is simple, it is an excuse for him to be away and thus he wouldn't be lured into the battlefield. Also, he likes being a dark mage, and leading them could be a great development for him. We may want to discuss it with him first.

With Chieftain Foot:

Give him some meals that can last him for a week or so, and tell him that we will probably buy off his library when we are able to do so.

With the Mayor:

Before deciding anything about this, let's discuss politics.


So, the mayor is a chicken, easily impressed by military might. We may want to eventually take over this town, so we will need to gain the Countess' favor.

So, we are going to pretend to play her game.

She wants Joy as Duchess, so we are going to suggest that we may declare her Duchess (we will not say that this is definitelly decided, though). She wants dark mage support, so we will say that Dean is already organizing support. This will also decrease the possibilities of him getting murdered.


So, after gaining her favor, we can work with the Mayor. The idea is that, before getting rid of him, he will be the one to do the nasty work inside the city. The idea of just executing them is nice, especially if we don't take responsibility for that.

So, eventually, we may make him do this:
-Have Syzzik's lie exposed publicy and execute him for price gouging. Just encouraging the rumor that he actually makes the potions and that he is lying about the imports should make the act more legitimate.
-Make Peat the bully orc try to kill us, and them have the city guard kill him instead, for attempted murder. It is easy to kill those who are easily induced into rage.
-Zeph the bullied and frightened human is going to be left alone. We can easily discuss the new terms when we are the only competence in the city. And as he is easily frightened, so we have leverage.

With Zeph on the head of the potion industry in the city, we could easily man the other workshops.
+1

Very reasonable steps +1
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NRDL

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Re: (SG) Widow: A Duchess Scorned
« Reply #51 on: April 02, 2016, 03:48:35 pm »

Weirdsound, can we please have an info dump on what our duchess knows about the dark magic community?  It's individuals, it's status, numbers, etc?

Also, the Hex of the demon Gungor, the aspect regarding torture, can that be used to curse someone?  And does it just cause generic constant pain, or can we fiddle with its execution a little bit?
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Romans

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Re: (SG) Widow: A Duchess Scorned
« Reply #52 on: April 02, 2016, 08:29:00 pm »

To each conversation:

With Fugitap:

Arrange an introduction to the Dark Magic community tomorrow. But Dean will be the one to go, instead of us. The reason is simple, it is an excuse for him to be away and thus he wouldn't be lured into the battlefield. Also, he likes being a dark mage, and leading them could be a great development for him. We may want to discuss it with him first.

With Chieftain Foot:

Give him some meals that can last him for a week or so, and tell him that we will probably buy off his library when we are able to do so.

With the Mayor:

Before deciding anything about this, let's discuss politics.


So, the mayor is a chicken, easily impressed by military might. We may want to eventually take over this town, so we will need to gain the Countess' favor.

So, we are going to pretend to play her game.

She wants Joy as Duchess, so we are going to suggest that we may declare her Duchess (we will not say that this is definitelly decided, though). She wants dark mage support, so we will say that Dean is already organizing support. This will also decrease the possibilities of him getting murdered.


So, after gaining her favor, we can work with the Mayor. The idea is that, before getting rid of him, he will be the one to do the nasty work inside the city. The idea of just executing them is nice, especially if we don't take responsibility for that.

So, eventually, we may make him do this:
-Have Syzzik's lie exposed publicy and execute him for price gouging. Just encouraging the rumor that he actually makes the potions and that he is lying about the imports should make the act more legitimate.
-Make Peat the bully orc try to kill us, and them have the city guard kill him instead, for attempted murder. It is easy to kill those who are easily induced into rage.
-Zeph the bullied and frightened human is going to be left alone. We can easily discuss the new terms when we are the only competence in the city. And as he is easily frightened, so we have leverage.

With Zeph on the head of the potion industry in the city, we could easily man the other workshops.
+1

Very reasonable steps +1
I say we should go as well to the meeting, we need to be on good relations with these people ourselves. But he should defiantly come with us, he could learn quite a bit.
And Chief Foot we should have him test Mackies children actually, make use of them in other capacities. Its a kind of a reward I would think.     
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Tomcost

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Re: (SG) Widow: A Duchess Scorned
« Reply #53 on: April 02, 2016, 08:31:44 pm »

Tomorrow we are going to meet with Countess, and the idea is that Dean is not present so that he can't be convinced to go into battle to be murdered.


Also, I just realized something: we may be able to buy our husband's soul from Tivavarav. I wonder what could we do with that.

Romans

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Re: (SG) Widow: A Duchess Scorned
« Reply #54 on: April 02, 2016, 09:20:33 pm »

Tomorrow we are going to meet with Countess, and the idea is that Dean is not present so that he can't be convinced to go into battle to be murdered.


Also, I just realized something: we may be able to buy our husband's soul from Tivavarav. I wonder what could we do with that.
Might be awhile I'd imagine the price is out of our range for now, but seriously we should test Mackies children. We could just warn Dean not to go with her for his own safety, she won't do anything with us there.

Also we're meeting the dark community at Dawn, the countess meeting won't be till later in the day i'm assuming. So we go with us and then he can stay there and learn, while we meet the countess.

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« Last Edit: April 02, 2016, 09:24:19 pm by Romans »
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Weirdsound

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Re: (SG) Widow: A Duchess Scorned
« Reply #55 on: April 02, 2016, 09:31:56 pm »

Weirdsound, can we please have an info dump on what our duchess knows about the dark magic community?  It's individuals, it's status, numbers, etc?

Also, the Hex of the demon Gungor, the aspect regarding torture, can that be used to curse someone?  And does it just cause generic constant pain, or can we fiddle with its execution a little bit?

Watcher tracks the four members of the dark community that you know of. You are sure there are more out there, but watcher spends so much time tracking these ones he has no time to hunt for more. You avoid direct contact with them, you don't want them to name you if you get caught, but are pretty sure most know your identity anyway. You suspect any of them are strong enough to destroy Watcher if they wanted to, so you are leery about imposing too much on them, but doubt they would do such a thing as they are convinced your spies and agents are numerous.

The Goblin mission to North Bank City might be aware of more Dark Mages.

The Torzizs are a pair of half-goblin half sibblings born in slavery at a Dark Fortress to different captured human soldiers. They escaped eleven years ago as teenagers with several of their master/father's tomes on Dark Magic. The settled in Silver County, and found work as miners. In the years since they have gotten incestuously married, become competent in the dark arts, purchased a silver mine of their own, and started teaching black magic to their children. They are still improving, and might even someday surpass, but for now the only thing they can do that you cannot is raise inorganic undead made from hunks of Silver. As tribute, they maintain a few blessings on Watcher.

Dougpo Illeum is a dwarven air mage who purchased books on dark magic from the goblins, and practices on the side. He currently is the ranking dwarf in the nature mage's guild of Silver County. You doubt he knows your identity, as he, like most air elementalists, despises you and your husband for build the Winding Path and breaking up the monopoly the mage balloonists held over trade between Redleaf Duchy and dwarven lands. As an Air Elementalist he can easily earn credit to make deals with demons related to the winds and skies, and he can still use his balloon to easily access Dwarven and Goblin lands. As tribute, Dougpo handles any minor repairs Watcher may require.

Nezbit Krane is a semi-retired sailor from Tradewind Duchy to the north, who, as a Manifestation, calls upon aspects of various water demons to become a terror of the deep himself. He has managed to tame a pod of Dire Orca from the Gulf of Monsters, and used them to lead attacks on trade vessels. He got caught, and is now lying low at a coastal cottage in Southjungle County as the merchants up north have placed huge bounties on his head. He still owns a small boat, and presently makes a modest living taking rich nobles and orcs out to sea to hunt large trophy monsters. He does not practice Hex Weaving, so he sometimes seeks the help of other dark mages to help him get in touch with new demons. You are currently not asking tribute of him.

Shaman Pork is an Orc who combines Druidism, Orcish Divine Magic, and Hex Weaving to turn mortals into werelemurs over whom he exerts total control around the full moon. Pork was banished from Orc Lands for killing the Chieftian he had pledged fealty to, and now runs amok across South and Central Redleaf Duchy. There is an entire fort full of inquisitors trying to hunt him down, but so far he has had great success in avoiding them. As an Orc, he dosn't feel bound to follow the same protocols followed by Human and Goblin dark mages, and refuses to offer tribute. He has, however, been lobbying you to take a stronger role in organizing the Dark Mages of the Duchy, and as offered to serve as your second in command should you choose to do so; But up until this point, as a highly visible Duchess, you didn't think it appropriate to be doing direct business with such a being.

Generally you can do whatever you want with your hexes, so long as they relate to the given effects and do not directly lead to the victim's death.
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StrawBarrel

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Re: (SG) Widow: A Duchess Scorned
« Reply #56 on: April 02, 2016, 10:44:19 pm »

Fugitap:
Also we're meeting the dark community at Dawn, the countess meeting won't be till later in the day i'm assuming. So we go with us and then he can stay there and learn, while we meet the countess.
+1
Ask Fugitap if we can have the meeting tomorrow morning. If not then, just send Dean to the Rivertower Knifehouse to learn.

With Chieftain Foot:

Give him some meals that can last him for a week or so, and tell him that we will probably buy off his library when we are able to do so.
+1
And Chief Foot we should have him test Mackies children actually, make use of them in other capacities. Its a kind of a reward I would think.     
+1
Let Chief Foot know we will most likely use his services when we have the resources. | Separately ask Mackie if she will let any of her children be taught by our old mentor.

Mayor:
Ask for a meeting to be arranged with Peat. + Ask him how he became mayor. Try to get to know more about him.
I'm not sure if could actually control Gregory because he seems firmly(?) under the thumb of Lady Charlie. As for dealing with the potion racket, I think we should try talking to them. There's a chance Peat didn't know who we are and our authority might force him into agreement. Talking it out seems faster than trying to kill people off and trying manipulate the Mayor since we need to income fast. There are still plenty of unknowns right now regarding the Mayor and the potion racket, but hopefully the continuation of this meeting will give us a little more insight.
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NRDL

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Re: (SG) Widow: A Duchess Scorned
« Reply #57 on: April 03, 2016, 12:19:53 am »

As for the mayor, I was kinda toying around with the idea of cursing him so he feels constant pain whenever he is in the presence of or communicates with Charlie Kincaid.  Psychologically condition him not to want to work with her.
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GOD DAMN IT NRDL.
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IronyOwl

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Re: (SG) Widow: A Duchess Scorned
« Reply #58 on: April 03, 2016, 04:52:35 am »

Wow, Charlie ain't playin'. Neither of us were even in town yet and she had already been plotting our son's death.

This probably cements our need to declare Joy Duchess (or declare our intent to recall Farquad). Of course, between her schemey husband and wolf in sheep's clothing commander we'd be putting our eggs in an awfully shifty-looking basket. Well, Joy herself is Deeply Loyal, so maybe the basket's pretty nice, but it's in a pretty rough neighborhood. We might want to keep a very close, frequent relationship with her to make sure her commander and husband don't end up nudging her off in bad directions without her realizing it.

On the subject of potions, I actually kind of like the idea of cracking open the current cartel and returning some semblance of fair pricing to the city. That wouldn't help us directly, but it'd probably make us well-liked and would improve the city itself. We could even establish a Potioner's Guild or similar if we wanted to maintain some control (and reputation among anyone who wants/uses potions) even without the rampant gouging.

On the other hand, if we just want the money I say we demand ownership of the current three goons and then use their appliances whenever we feel like it. The mayor's firmly in Countess Crazy's pocket, and we're probably going to go along with whatever she proposes because we're not in a good position to do otherwise. That'd put the mayor more or less at our disposal, at least for something like this, and there's no particular reason to mess with the current system if we're not going to do anything differently.


Fugitap: Have him arrange a meeting for us and Dean whenever convenient. Bringing Dean is a good idea, but we're the one in charge and we're the one who wants to use the workstations, so we should really go ourselves. We can just say he's planning dark mage business or rely on agreeing (vaguely or otherwise) that Joy should be Duchess to stop him from getting invited to battle and knocked off.

Foot: Inquire how long it'd take for his students to start becoming useful to us, and if he knows of any good ways to find possible recruits while we're at it. Promise to buy his library as soon as we're able, and to pay more than 1500 silver for it if we have any to spare.

Between being an orc and being our former teacher, I don't think he's going to want to accept charity, but getting some acolytes could be a depressingly cheap way to help both of us. Also at this very moment we're as poor as he is, so we can't even pay him to examine Mackie's kids except on credit.

Mayor: I don't think we have any further business. If we get on the Countess' good side we can probably request or strongarm anything we need out of him, but I don't think we need anything yet.

+ Ask him how he became mayor. Try to get to know more about him.
Actually this is good. We probably know everything we need to about him in that he's a sniveling coward/bully, but it couldn't hurt to ask.

Not sure we need a meeting with Peat, per se. Waltzing into his shop with one of our swarms, explaining that we're a ranking Dark Mage, and rattling off a long list of people he'd infuriate by crossing us seems like it'd clear up any misunderstandings. Well, except for the "we physically own you now, like a chair" part, but that won't actually be true until/unless the Countess meeting goes well.

Morning: Examine mercenary quality, quantity, and pricing. It'd be handy to know just how successful Charlie's plan is liable to be, and how feasible mercs will be for our own purposes. Other than that, let's just focus on the meeting; I have no doubt it'll include some fascinating strategic and moral conundrums.


As for a way of getting rid of the mayor, we could anonymously tell the garrison in the Crossing that there is a force incoming, and that attacking soon would send them into disarray. As this would go against the plans of Countess Charlie, and as it is confidential information that the Mayor knows, we could later blame the mayor as a traitor and have the Countess put us in charge.
As for the mayor, I was kinda toying around with the idea of cursing him so he feels constant pain whenever he is in the presence of or communicates with Charlie Kincaid.  Psychologically condition him not to want to work with her.
See, crossing/disposing of the Mayor strikes me as counterproductive. We're a figurehead the Kinkaids are using to legitimize their douchebaggery; they're probably not going to want us running one of their towns, but if they are, they're probably not going to need their current mook executed to do so. The Mayor is meanwhile motivated by greed and fear; trying to sour his relationship with his bosses probably isn't going to make him any more ineffective than he already is.

Case in point for this: We got a letter from Countess Charlie's own hand detailing her casual desire to murder our son in order to have a better puppet in our daughter. We got this because the Mayor's a puppet with crap security; if he dies or become suspicious or stops being useful, we lose that kind of opportunity.


They are still improving, and might even someday surpass, but for now the only thing they can do that you cannot is raise inorganic undead made from hunks of Silver.
Neat! What qualities would a silver golem (rough or beautifully sculpted) have, and how would that compare to a normal undead?
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Kashyyk

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Re: (SG) Widow: A Duchess Scorned
« Reply #59 on: April 03, 2016, 04:59:50 am »

The dark mage society has clearly had quite a bit of freedom since our husband took over,  and who knows how much of that they might lose if the Prince or Kinkaid takes over. If we intend to get them to work more closely for us (battle mages,  army builders,  what have you) we should make that point and guarantee that they'll continue to enjoy their freedom under us, but not under anyone else.
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